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Tuesday, June 28, 2016

Although I'm not Jon Snow, Lord Commander of the Night's Watch, "my watch is ended" (HBO Game of Thrones, S6 E3). Someone else will now wear the robe and watch over Mom.

Well that's not entirely true, but now most of the duties caring for Mom day-to-day will be carried out by Makenna. I haven't died like Jon Snow did, but at times it feels a bit that way. It's time to get back on with my life and rejoin the real world.

While Jon Snow is now King of the North, my ambitions aren't that great. I would be content landing a social media job for a cigar or coffee company. My Klout score of 61 is in the top ten percent of all Klout users and I can use these skills to drive your company forward into the future.

I'm sure there will be posts here from time-to-time with updates on Moms status. Right now she's doing about the same. Still hanging in there, still crabby.

Tuesday, June 14, 2016

At the end of July, it will be three years since we moved Mom in with us. In the beginning it was difficult, but manageable. Mom had enough brain function and could remember just enough to think she was fine and she constantly argued about going home.

Today, Mom's Alzheimer's has definitely moved into the advanced stage. Overall, she lost the ability to recognize faces around Thanksgiving, she is now hallucinating other people in the house, looking for her husband on a daily basis, obsessing over cars either parked on the street or just driving by, and she's becoming incontinent--no, she is incontinent.

Along with the incontinence comes anger. She doesn't want to wear her disposable underwear and takes them off at every opportunity. Once you figure out she has none on, it's a fight getting her in another pair, plus it's a fight to clean her up once she's had an accident.

I've always said I was in this for the long haul, but now I'm not so sure. It's becoming too much and I'm paying a price for it both physically and mentally. Some days the front window and cars can become such a headache that covering the window in black plastic seems to be the only way to keep my sanity, but I haven't done it yet.

Mom is still eating but some days it's one meal, some days it's three, however most of the time she is only picking at her plate. Even her breakfast volume is down about fifty percent the last month. I know, well over a year ago the doctor warned me this would be coming.

These are the reasons it appears we're heading downhill, the brakes are failing and we're picking up speed. The ending is coming, can I hang in there until the end? Today, I can't answer to that question, I guess only time will tell.

Well I that's enough for now. If you have any questions or comments please let me know.